you're watching beyond 100 days. a top republican senator slams donald trump, saying the president is a liar. bob corker also questioned mr trump's competence and his stability. it was a stunning rebuke. all this as the president headed to the senate for a policy lunch. it doesn't sound like the easiest of gatherings. you know, it's a sad place from my perspective for our nation and i think the worst of it is going to be just the whole debasing, if you will, of our nation. the us military offers more details about the deadly ambush in niger, but there seem to be more questions than answers. meet and greets in the german parliament as the far—right takes its place in the bundestag for the first time in more than 50 years. also on the programme... the most powerful leader since chairman mao: how president xi cemented his spot at the top

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of china's communist party. testing the limits of artistic freedom. a controversial new film on tsar nicolas ii finally hits screens in russia after months of bitter protest. get in touch with us using the hashtag 'beyond—one—hundred—days' hello and welcome, i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is in london. president trump has difficulty telling the truth, he's not a good role model for children and he is debasing america. those aren't ours views, they are not the views of a democrat, those are the opinions of a top republican in washington. senator bob corker is retiring next year but until then he is speaking his mind on the subject of donald trump. the powerful chairman of the foreign relations committee gave a series of interviews on us tv today in which he came close to saying he doesn't even fully trust mr trump with the nuclear codes. it's not the first time the two men have tangled, but it is the most explosive. here he is earlier today. it's a sad place from my perspective for our nation and i think the worst

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of it is gona be the whole debasing of nation. of it is gonna be the whole debasing of nation. that will be the contribution that hurts most. reporter: you think he is debasing nation? i don't think there is any question, just the way he conducts himself, he goes to such a low level, i do. by by now, we know what the reaction is likely to be. donald trump fired back on twitter, saying... that back and forth continued throughout the morning. and then the two went to a senate lunch together to discuss tax reform. bet that was cosy. here to help us break this all down is our political analyst

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ron christie who served as an advisor to president george w bush. i don't know where to start, it is another tuesday in the trump administration. you say you have a talk to people in the white house, what do you make of this dispute? this is the last thing they want to be doing now. coupled with the fact the president has been arguing with a gold star mother, a mother who has lost a soldier son. he needs to pass this tax bill. so listening to the folks in the white house this morning and i came from capitol hill moments ago, there is a sense of anxiety and tension on both sides that they need to find a way to get a ceasefire otherwise it will spiral out of control. there were a whole list of things bob corker accused donald trump of, there was that one about debasing america and he was asked, would you trust donald trump

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with the nuclear codes? he refused to a nswer with the nuclear codes? he refused to answer the question. we use words unprecedented but the one who should be an adviser to the president on foreign policy matters, the one who should be consulting with the president and the military doesn't trust donald trump to have his finger on the pulse of nuclear weapons, it is impossible. hello, i will give you another comment from bob corker, not a good role model. it isa bob corker, not a good role model. it is a sad state for the american political spectrum to have republicans, not democrats, republicans, not democrats, republicans, shooting at each other ina circularfiring republicans, shooting at each other in a circularfiring squad. the democrats right now are gleeful and many i know are content to stay out of the way to let the republicans continue to self—destruct and then have a better prospect for them as we head into the 2018 election, perhaps taking control of the house

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of representatives and narrowing the margin in the senate. it is an unprecedented day. i need a better word, but the real question for me is, what is the readout for the senate policy lunch going to be? how did the president go from 52 senators, how did they receive him and what did he have to say to them? the more attentive of our viewers might have seen in the headlines, that something seemed to fall in front of mitch mcconnell and the president as they walked to the lunch. that is a russian flag that was apparently flown by a protester standing next to the photographers. it all goes to show how divisive this issue has become? it is and it also shows you we're not talking about the important issues in the american political scene. we are talking about russia, talking about collusion and talking about not being a good role model. we should being a good role model. we should be talking about how can republicans

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and democrats move forward with domestic times with low unemployment rate to do the work with the american people. but these distractions continue, just another tuesday in donald trump's washington, dc. as ron mentioned, he has just washington, dc. as ron mentioned, he hasjust come from washington, dc. as ron mentioned, he has just come from capitol hill. he talked about the anxiety people are feeling there, earlier we spoke to steve russell from oklahoma. i was wondering what your constituents made of the row between bob corker and donald trump?“ constituents made of the row between bob corker and donald trump? if we we re bob corker and donald trump? if we were to get excited about every row between the executive and politicians, we would be spun up all the time, i suppose. i don't know they are paying a lot of attention to it. you are, presumably? certainly, we are always concerned,

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particularly with regard to foreign policy and how that might be impacted. congressman, how do you think it might affect the president's ability to get things done? it is important on two aspects. we cannot keep making this about personalities. 0n either side of these types of spats. when we go around poking one another in the eye, we want to poke the other eye and it will accelerate beyond. we have to focus on the policy. i think the president, he has a good, strategic vision for the things he wa nts to strategic vision for the things he wants to do. unfortunately, unlike times in the past, when he can choose to do business with a corporation or not and then move onto another corporation, the only thing he has to work with is, in this case, republicans in congress primarily and then congress as a whole. we are all he has and it

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serves well to focus on policy. we are, as members of this body, show some difference in respect as well. we understand why bob corker feels able to speak the way he does, he is standing down but the president is there for the duration. does he need to engage? why he is on twitter taking on bob corker when he is meeting the senate? taking on bob corker when he is meeting the senate ?|j taking on bob corker when he is meeting the senate? i cannot pretend to know what is in the mind of the president. my own observations are, as he sees people that attack, he has a propensity to push back. i think him not coming from any political background might account for some of that. i think what you have, people are going to hate us from the right, the left and anything in between, often on anything in between, often on anything we do. even if we come up with a great idea, people will hate it on principle because that is the

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nature of politics. the president, not coming from that environment, he's probably adjusting to some of that. is it a proper adjustment? we can debate that until the cows come home. new have a man in his 70s, who has had habits of success in his past. he has habits of behaviour that are not likely to change after seven decades. we will be hearing more from steve russell in a moment. let's turn now to niger. we're getting the first official accounts of what happened in the west african country three weeks when four us servicemen were killed by fighters linked to so—called islamic state. and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. america's top general joseph dunford, spoke to the press yesterday. here's what we know so far. early morning on october 3rd, 12 members of a us special operations task force and 30 nigerien forces left niamey on an information—gathering mission to the village of tongo. to the village of tongo tongo. the following morning, october 4th, the troops

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begin their return to niamey. they come under attack by about 50 is—affiliated fightersf fourth 0ctober morning troops start return to base come under attack by 50 is—linked one hour later, the soldiers requested back—up. within minutes, a drone arrives — providing live video of the fighting. one hour after attack starts... it became evident, one soldier was missing. two days later, sergeant johnson's body was found and handed over to the us military. let's hear again from steve russell, the republican had a long career in the us army himself and is currently head of the house armed services committee. what are the questions you would like answered by this investigation?

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first, i think we have to look at what was the nature of what we were doing in niger. i think many people in the united states and it is probably true in great britain and oui’ probably true in great britain and our other allies, we have had troops there a long time. many americans, some members of congress seem to be shocked we have operations in these countries but foreign assistance has been the hallmark of our special forces since their inception. we have to put these things in context. we have to allow the military to get accurate a nswe i’s. we have to allow the military to get accurate answers. this was an ambush, which means it was unexpected. it was in a remote area, it was in cooperation with troops in remote villages in remote areas. we have to allow the very isolated nature of the incident time to sift through all of those facts. i am very grateful to the french and great britain for all of the things that have gone on in subzero africa

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in the fight against al-qaeda affiliate is, isis affiliate, boca pahrump, we have co—operated a lot and most of our citizens are not engaged on that on a day—to—day basis. congressman steve russell from oklahoma, thank you forjoining us. from oklahoma, thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. he said not many people will be paying much attention to this part. those senior republicans who have had things to say about donald trump, senator mccain, bob corker, is the rot setting in? it might be tempting to look at what happened and think the floodgates will open and think the floodgates will open and the republican party will turn on donald trump. that might be the view of some people who are critical

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of the president in europe and the uk. i don't think what bob corker did today is going to suddenly lead toa did today is going to suddenly lead to a lot of republican senators breaking with president trump. there have been six who have publicly said things opposing him, senator mccain and bob corker, the most outspoken. but senators are concerned about their own constituencies. in some of their own constituencies. in some of their states, the president is more popular than they are. so don't expect suddenly, even though they say it in private, a whole load of republican senators will take on donald trump. the polls did tell us he is more popular. the catalan regional government says it will go to spain's constitutional court to try and preserve its autonomous powers. madrid is moving to reassert control over the authorities in catalonia, after a disputed independence referendum at the beginning of the month. the spanish senate is set to authorise the transfer of power on friday. a british man who went to syria to fight against so called islamic state has died.

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jack holmes, who was 2a, is said to have been killed as he cleared landmines from the city of raqqa. the former it worker first travelled to the region two years ago and had been fighting with kurdish militia. the olympic torch for next year's winter games has been let at a ceremony in greece. the torch will travel in a relay around greece before travelling to the host nation in south korea. the winter games will begin in february. for the first time since the second world war, germany has a far right party sitting in the bundestag. the alternative fur deutschland promised a "new era" for the country as it made its debut today. the afd‘s presence as the third biggest party in parliament is a blow to chancellor merkel‘s conservatives. it's left her in a tricky position too. she's having to horse trade policies and allegiances in order to form a coalition government. she's trying to bring together three parties with quite different views on everything from tax to europe. we'rejoined now from berlin

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by senior correspondent for the german handelsblatt newspaper moritz koch. it is very good to see you. 92 mps in the bundestag that the afd have, it is not a small number, is it? not at all. it is obviously concerning. this is the first time, as you already pointed out, since the second world war, we have some genuine fascists in the bundestag. but it is important to note that today's germany is not as it used to be and the afd, as the far right party is called, is quite a diverse group. you have xenophobes, you have people who despise democratic values but also you have regular conservatives. this is a challenge to german democracy. but i think it

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can handle it. tell us about the coalition the chancellor is building and how it will affect the way she behaves in europe? that actually is the main issue right now. european reform. the coalition, first of all, it is likely she will be able to form this coalition between the green party, her own conservative bloc and the liberal democrats. but it is not absolutely clear. we will have long negotiations, in the meantime germany will not be able to ta ke meantime germany will not be able to take any kind of meaningful position and after that, it remains to be seen. and after that, it remains to be seen. because angela merkel will now have two govern with two political fractions that are sceptical about any further transfer of power to brussels. the liberal democrats and

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the christian social union, the bavarian wing of her conservative party. stay with us, we are going to talk about brexit because the president of the european council, donald tusk, has told the european parliament that the eu must stay united in the brexit talks or face defeat. it is up to london how this will end. witha it is up to london how this will end. with a good deal, no deal, or i'io end. with a good deal, no deal, or no brexit. but in each of these scenarios, we will protect our common interest only by being together. donald tusk earlier today. is there a chance that on the issue of brexit the eu 27 are not going to stay as united as they have been so far? there is certainly the chance, but as far as germany is concerned, i

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think it is quite clear that germany is completely aligned with the eu, at this point. it is also not the most pressing issue for germany right now, to be honest. it is not very controversial. i think all major german parties want to have a good relationship with britain. they wa nt good relationship with britain. they want strong ties to britain, german businesses don't want any kind of trade interruption. at the same time, everybody feels like britain has to pay its bills and that the ball is now in the court of theresa may. so it remains to be seen what the british government will offer in the british government will offer in the next round of negotiations. the british government will offer in the next round of negotiationsm is very good to speak to, thank you for being with us. meanwhile, austria's conservative leader has invited the far—right for talks to form a new coalition government — sebastian kurz said his people's party and the freedom party, the fpo, had similar positions on tax cuts and immigration controls.

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the step paves the way for the freedom party's return to government after more than a decade in opposition. but mr kurz has warned that his party is pro—european, in contrast to the eurosceptic fpo. the people's party won last week's parliamentary election, but is well short of a majority. the only other option available to mr kurz to form a majority government is a coalition with the social democrats, a relationship that failed last they time they tried it. reformed this programme to talk about populism in europe, brexit and trump and how it was affecting elections in europe. it did look after the dutch and french elections, populism was on the way out. but we have had sebastian kurz in austria, we have had catalonia. and then you have two regions in

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italy that has probably been missed by many, that voted under the control of the secessionist northern league and they voted for more independence from rome. those forces are still there and you're's mainstream politicians would do well to listen to what is going on at the european periphery? yes, they have had to respond to the right. we have seen had to respond to the right. we have seen it here in the united states, the republican party being pulled to the republican party being pulled to the right by steve bannon. we have seen the right by steve bannon. we have seen it in the netherlands as well. to what extent do the established parties pulled themselves, in which case, whether they win or not, they are having an impact? yes, that was theissue are having an impact? yes, that was the issue in france with the last government being pulled to the right a little bit with the success of marine le pen. a controversial new film has premiered in russia after months of protests, threats and violence. ‘matilda', which tells the story of a romance between the then—future tsar nicholas ii and a ballerina, has attracted huge attention ever since 0rthodox activists

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led by a russian mp began a campaign against it. the film has become the latest test case of artistic freedom in russia, our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports from the premiere in st petersburg. this is how extremists responded to a film about russia's last czar. they torched two cars and rammed another one into an empty cinema. this is what upset them. matilda is russia's most controversial film in years. a love story about a ballerina and a future czar. more soap opera than biopic, it has become a test of artistic freedom here, as the violence and calls to ban it have grown. despite the threats, matilda made it to opening night. with the arsonist arrested, celebrities, socialites and stars poured in for the saint petersburg premiere. after months of threats, violence and controversy, matilda is finally getting its moment on the red carpet. some foreign stars are not

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here and we are told that is because of security concerns but for the director, the fact the film has made it this far is a reason to celebrate. translation: i hope there are no incidents now so that people can come to the cinema and watch the film in peace. but i think this is a victory, not so much for me or for matilda, but for common—sense. it is a failure, however, for this mp, who campaigned relentlessly to get the film banned. nicholas ii is an orthodox saint so this woman insists the love story is blasphemous. but nicholas and matilda did have a romance and the proof is amongst the dusty documents in this theatre archive. the dancer's diaries record late—night trysts with the man she called nicky. there is even their first kiss. on these pages at least, it goes no further. translation: even these diaries say

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that if anything happened it wasn't how the film director imagined it. i think that is why there has been protest. you have to be respectful. but the director puts a barbie doll with ken and makes them kiss and roll around in a passionate embrace. even at the premiere, the director was ha rangued. this man told him his film was a threat to national security. he has not actually seen it. the dispute is bound to rumble on. but after this gala performance, matilda will hit screens across the country with extra security for cinemas just in case. when somebody says a film as a

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threat to national—security without having actually seen it, you know there are questions to be asked. the clintons aren't usually renowned for being shy and retiring. but this picture has emerged of bill clinton hiding among the bushes. well, sort of. you will see what we mean. looks like sean spicer in the bushes. bush presidential center in dallas before his press secretary took the snap and tweeted the photo with the caption: "everything's bigger in texas." did you see the concert in texas at the weekend? there was a great weekend. you had george w bush behind bill clinton. president 0bama was there and he whispers something. and then president 0bama starts to laugh and he'd does what kids do, like naughty schoolboys at the back, trying not to laugh. that is exactly

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my image of you when you were about 12 years old. what do you mean about 12? it is my image of you on this programme. this is another great moment. there was also the presidents with lady gaga, who was there with them. i think george w bush said he would sing with her. there with them. i think george w bush said he would sing with herlj would sing with her as well, i wouldn't do it very well. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news. not since chairman mao has a chinese leader wielded such power. we'll be finding out why the communist party wants president xi's legacy to live on. from politics to painting — and the 19th century selfie. we take a look at the enduring work of paul cezanne as a collection of the french master's work goes on display in london. that's still to come. today was very overcast across the

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uk. tomorrow, some sunshine on the way. the good news is it is going to stay mild, if mild weather is what you want. i don't think anybody will be complaining too much about that. mild, south—westerly winds coming in and it will be long before we get cold northerly wind. but for the time being, we still have cloud around this evening, some of it is rain bearing so we have rain and drizzle around particularly the central areas of the uk and in wales. in scotland and northern ireland, some showers. in east anglia, some showers. this is where the mildest weather will be tonight. this is the morning, the rush hour s0 this is the morning, the rush hour so drizzle and low cloud across cornwall, devon and somerset. throughout most of the west country, cloud hugging the south coast, maybe a bit of cloud across the south and east midlands and north woods, drier

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weather and in the western isles of scotland, we have some showers. temperatures closest to nine or 10 degrees. what will happen tomorrow? this weather front with the low, grey cloud and drizzle thrown in, sta rts grey cloud and drizzle thrown in, starts to fall apart and most of the cloud shifts further south, so the vast majority of the uk on wednesday will have a fine, bright if not sunny day, lovely weather across the midlands and northern england. the far south clanking daily—macro hanging on to the cloud. it looks like the cloud might shift north, but still a bright day and mild. 18 in london but fresher across scotland, only 12 or 13. the wind is changing direction and that will be a feature, a change in the weather as we head towards the end of the week and into the weekend. we haven't got too much of the south—westerly wind any more, it is more of a westerly, north—westerly

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developing and those temperatures are dropping. as we go through the weekend, they are coming straight from the north so temperatures are set to take, not necessarily a massive dive, but closer to what we normally expect at this time of the year. kent will be down to around 13. that is the latest. this is beyond 100 days, i'm katty kay in washington, kristian frazier is in london. the us president makes a rare trip to capitol hill, he has got into a real row with the foreign relations committee. 0ne republican lawmaker told us they should cool it. we are all he has and it serves well to focus on policy and we ought to, as members of this body, show some deference and respect as well. america's top general promises of all investigation following the deaths of four soldiers in niche

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air. and coming up in the next half an hour, pressing the flesh in pakistan, what does rex tillerson wa nt pakistan, what does rex tillerson want from america's at times fractious allies? who is responsible for posting these ads during last year's election? congress launches an investigation to find out. let us know your thoughts using the hashtag... pakistan's prime minister has told the us secretary of state that his country has produced results fighting islamic militants in the region. he'll so reaffirmed pakistan's commitment to the war on terror. relations between the two allies have been restrained with mr tillis and in asia to outline president from's is strategy for the

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region, including more cooperation with india, pakistan's archrival. we are joined with india, pakistan's archrival. we arejoined by the with india, pakistan's archrival. we are joined by the former ambassador to be us the pakistan hussain haqqanl to be us the pakistan hussain haqqani. 0n the issue of the new approach, many americans would say the relationship with pakistan over the relationship with pakistan over the last two years, the us hasn't had a very good deal and maybe it is time for a new approach, to be tougher, cut that work?|j time for a new approach, to be tougher, cut that work? i think toughness might work whether previous policy has failed and pakistan has continued to support the caliban was saying we do not. at times saying yes we do but also having concerns about india so the consensus in dc is to get tough on pakistan. how they will be do it remains to be seen because right now, secretary of state tillis's america for our stay in pakistan is not going to be enough to change something that has gone downhill over16 something that has gone downhill over 16 years. yes, rex tillerson,

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when he was in afghanistan, said pakistan needs to take a clear eyed view of the situation they are confronted with. do you think pakistan is ready to do that? what would it do to get them there? -- what would it take? pakistan on the one hand and needs america's assistance and support. and its policy is essentially not something that does deal with america's priorities. it does not want certain jihadi groups including al-qaeda caliban to be out of business but america wants them all eliminated. the question is, what will the united states do to try and coerce pakistan to change it? some comments that have dropped on reuters in the last hour "they do not need our territory anymore", talking about the taliban, 47% of the territories under direct control of the taliban and he quotes the ineptitude of

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america and allied forces for not bringing an end to the conflict. the pakistani foreign minister is essentially addressing a pakistani audience. pakistanis have been led to believe there is nothing wrong with pakistan's policy and it can simply continue to get through with denial. it has been denying it does anything. the sheriff used to sabine lava n anything. the sheriff used to sabine lavan was not in pakistan, —— the president used to say some of the la rd president used to say some of the lard and was not in pakistan and later on, when he retired, he was found in pakistan and said that they did continue to support the ideas, s0 did continue to support the ideas, so what the foreign minister says will not influence anything in washington where people do believe that pakistan has a policy of duality. it is not going to endear the pakistanis to donald trump, the way he rolls. the pakistanis do have some leverage because everything flows through pakistan to the background airbase. —— to the

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airbase. i think the pakistani estimation of how important the ground line of communications are for the united states is somewhat exaggerated. when america had more than 100,000 troops, obviously it needed more supplies. when it has fewer troops, it needs less supplies andi fewer troops, it needs less supplies and i think the united states may actually tried to show to the pakistanis that we can get by without needing you as our logistics route. if that happens, then pakistan will be in a tough spot, because pakistani assumption has a lwa ys because pakistani assumption has always been america needs us. if america says we don't really need you, we would like you to be on our side but we don't really need you as much as you think we do, then pakistan will have to shape up. very interesting, want to watch. hussain haqqanl interesting, want to watch. hussain haqqani, thank you very much indeed. it is exhausting work, this international diplomacy. you meet all the dignitaries and the hangers

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on and there is a protocol to shaking hands. can wejust on and there is a protocol to shaking hands. can we just go on and there is a protocol to shaking hands. can wejust go back to these pictures of rex tillerson? what is the protocol question mark how long do you shake the handful, a couple of seconds? three shakes is usually enough and you make your way down the line and then you find yourself face—to—face with the pakistani prime minister, who goes for, number two, three, four, this is the longest handshake. rex tillerson's arm nearly falls. i was going to see if it was a world record, it is not, but all of the others... it is almost trumpian, isn't it? 30 secondsis it is almost trumpian, isn't it? 30 seconds is from's longest. speaking of which, there were two pictures today in the american papers. jury member rex tillerson said he was going to kabul, but was he? we have now learned these

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pictures are baghram airbase. it is like spot the difference pictures. you can see the clock, which has american zulu time on it, that has been airbrushed out and also, a fire alarm above ashraf ghani. 0ne interpretation of this is that the afg ha ns would interpretation of this is that the afghans would very much have liked rex tillerson to come to kabul but they don't have control of the countryside and couldn't guarantee his safety, so they airbrushed it out to make it look as if he was in kabul and not at baghram airbase. yes, it says volumes about the sensitivity us on both side, the americans don't feel they can go into kabul because it isn't safe enough and they cannot guarantee security and the afghans don't want to show that they actually went to baghram. it doesn't make for the easiest relationships. i love the way you say it was a tiring business, is the shoes speaking as an ambassador?

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he has been to a lot of countries in the last few days. 50 bombs, incidentally, fell on the airbase whenjim incidentally, fell on the airbase when jim mattis, incidentally, fell on the airbase whenjim mattis, the defence secretary, went there, so they were right to take precautions with his safety. which is why they have to be careful. a former top spy in britain has warned that more than 5,500 supporters of the so—called islamic state group have returned to their home countries. the report says britain has one of the largest populations of returning fighters. more than half of the 850 who travelled to iraq or syria are now backin travelled to iraq or syria are now back in the uk. can you's supreme court is set to rule on whether a rerun of the presidential election can go ahead on thursday. —— kenya's. the main opposition leader 0dinga has again urged his supporters to boycott the rerun, saying it is a sham. britain is to hold a national memorial service to remember victims of the grenfell tower fire in west london. the service will be held at st paul's cathedral on the 14th of

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december, exactly six months after the tragedy. 1,500 free tickets will be offered to people in the area around the tower block. and if you thought switching to e—cigarettes would help you get around smoking bans, think again. new york state is outlawing vaping in indoor public spaces, meaning no more electronic lighting up in restau ra nts, more electronic lighting up in restaurants, cafes more electronic lighting up in restau ra nts, cafes a nd more electronic lighting up in restaurants, cafes and bars. the law into effect in 30 days. can governments prevent russia from meddling in their elections by regulating social media platforms? that is the question facing the us congress as the rather obscure information technology subcommittee begins hearings. traditional media any us is already subject to all sorts of rules about their activities but facebook, twitter and you juba are exempt. in light of russia's involvement in the last election, critics say they should have to disclose who is paying for their online ads. republican ombudsman will hurt

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shares that committee and i spoke him earlier. —— will hurt. they were actively engaged in trying to influence our election in this last election and will likely do that in the future. what we are exploring today in the subcommittee hearing is how political ads, disclosures, disclaimers, should be donein disclosures, disclaimers, should be done in traditional media and in new media. you have called this the biggest russian covert operation in the united states, that is quite a claim. i think it is the most important covert action in the history of mother russia. what they we re history of mother russia. what they were trying to accomplish was not impacting who became an elected, because there is no impact on our voting count machines, this was trying to drive a wedge between the white house, the intelligence community and the american public. the russians are engaged in

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asymmetrical warfare for a long time, trying to erode trust in our democratic institutions and one way to do that is trying to get involved and influence elections. you are painting a broad picture of what russia has been doing. president trump says this is a small problem. is he wrong? well, can we put context into how much the adverts by work? i don't think we had enough information but asymmetrical warfare by adverse areas the russians is a serious concern “— by adverse areas the russians is a serious concern —— adversaries. many have said russia is one of the greatest concerns to this country. we are seeing them do this activity all over europe. this is not the first time they have done something like this. they are trying to undermine trust in the european institutions as well. there is a reason they are against the eu and nato, because that has led to 70 yea rs of nato, because that has led to 70 years of prosperity and peace in europe and has been a counter to

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russian influence. congressman, thank you very much forjoining us. i was listening to great interest with that because that debate is as relevant here in britain as it is in congress. i have a letter here, from damian collins, the chair of the digital culture media and sport select committee and he wrote five days ago, as you can see, to mark zuckerberg, the ceo of facebook and he says that he wants all the information supplying on exa m ples of all the information supplying on examples of adverts that were purchased by russian linked accounts, the information regarding the targeting of these adverts and pages, who they were targeted at, how many times these adverts reviewed and how much money was paid for these adverts to promote the pages. that sort of information has already been supplied to the select committee in congress. i'm not sure it is being supplied yet to the british side but there is a great focus on what happened during the election and also during the referendum campaign. yes and in other countries, as the

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congressman was saying, but also interesting that he doesn't think there is any amount of legislation thatis there is any amount of legislation that is going to totally stop this, these hackers, the box, they are very sophisticated and will probably find another loophole and another way around it but it gives them a huge amount of information on what they have been doing the social media platforms. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — the changing face of paul cezanne, a collection of portraits by the french master goes on display in london and we get an early look. here in the uk, a quarter of a million people are to get compensation from the household goods brighthouse, after financial regulators found the company wasn't acting as a "responsible lender." our business correspondent emma simpson reports. sasha rhodes has a lot of paperwork for buying a bed. it was a hire purchase dealfrom brighthouse with payments she says she has struggled to afford. they really are exploiting the vulnerable people

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on low incomes. it's difficult for people nowadays to afford these products out right and they are exploiting that. so, how does it work? imagine owning a state—of—the—art new tv for just £11 per week. when the actual cost is nearly £800. but here is the thing, the interest rate is 69.9%. after three years of payments, plus fees for insurance, delivery, and installation, you would end up paying nearly £2000 to own it. it isn't the sky—high interest rates that have spooked the regulator, it is the selling of products to vulnerable people who could not afford to pay. we call that irresponsible lending. and it can lead to harm to consumers. it could even lead to bankruptcy. so, we decided we needed to do something about it. we worked very hard alongside brighthouse to make sure

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that they meet our standards for responsible lending and they do now. government confirmed today that people overwhelmed with debt could be given a six—week breathing space to help get their finances back on track. with borrowing on the rise, real wages falling, and prices going up, many are vulnerable when it comes to paying their bills. brighthouse has apologised, saying it has made significant improvements, and it would be writing to affected customers by the end of the year to explain what compensation they are due. you're watching beyond 100 days. china's president xijinping has become its most powerful leader since chairman mao. the ruling communist party has written his name and political ideology in the party's constitution at the end of the national congress. that's china's most important political meeting. president xi has steadily increased his grip on power since becoming leader in 2012

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as our china editor carrie gracie now reports from beijing. "those in favour, raise your hands. and those against. none. unanimous." more than 2,000 communists and not a single vote against. so he's in the party bible. xijinping thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era. it's a third chapter for communist china. mao united the country, his successor made it rich, xi intends to make it strong. it's all a long way from the caves where he spent his teenage years as a farmer. xijinping had been born into the communist elite,

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but sent to the countryside when mao purged his father. that was then, this is now. china on the up and xi promising quality of life at home and superpower status abroad. translation: we want our lives to get better and we want a strong country. translation: xi jinping is very tough. compared to other leaders, he's great. xi believes in control — the party's control of the public, his own control of the party and a campaign of fear to silence rivals. xijinping has acquired more authority and more power and the chinese communist party has taken a step away from collective leadership and towards a one—man rule by a very charismatic and powerful leader.

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for centuries, china's emperors ruled from behind the walls of the forbidden city. by enshrining his vision, xi hopes to make himself invulnerable. the chinese once called chairman mao "the great helmsman" and foreigners called him "the red emperor", one man who dictated the destinies of more than a billion people. now, china has a new red emperor in xijinping and his party are already called him the helmsman and the saviour of socialism. mao's one—man rule brought only china misery, but this time is different. if xi fails, we're all the poorer and if he succeeds, his drive for control will reach us all. professor steve tsang is the director of the soas china institute and joins us now.

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he is supposed to do two terms of presidency but presumably, he could go on and on? well, the layered now is that he is going to stay in power in some ways at the 20 party congress five years from now. he hasn't said how long he's going to stay but he has no intention of a link which in power. and watching bad vote, that was a proper three line whip, no dissenting voices. bad vote, that was a proper three line whip, no dissenting voiceslj think they are doing better than three line whips. whatjie zheng ping now wants is one mcveet once he has said something to be done, the party will be delivering that and the party will take it a policy —— xijinping. any party in the the party will take it a policy —— xi jinping. any party in the world would like to have 100% votes in

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their favour. there is anyone question here in washington and that is what does xi jinping intend to do with all of this power? well, in the short term, xi jinping will focus on domestic matters, consolidating more power and then he will try to deliver his economic and other changes. and the reason he needs to still consolidate more power is that the whole plan is to deliver china to the promised land which requires the party to be extraordinarily effective. so i don't think xijinping extraordinarily effective. so i don't think xi jinping is trying to focus on the relationship with the united states in the short term. so you seem united states in the short term. so you seem to be suggesting that you don't think, as some do in washington, that he will use all of the power he is amassing to exercise a regional or political military control? no, i don't think that'll be the intention. the terms of

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external policy, he will focus more on his pet project, the so—called "belton road" initiative, previously called one belt and one road, that has gone into party charter and will therefore be priority. it will not ta ke therefore be priority. it will not take the chestnuts out of the fire for the americans over north korea if he can avoid it. the idea sold to us if he can avoid it. the idea sold to us here in the west was that as china became wealthier, it would become more democratic, ideas would c0 nve rg e become more democratic, ideas would converge with the west and it would become more open. is that idea now dead? xijinping has been very, very clear, that idea has never been realistic and that is not the china that he wants to see. he wants a china that will come under socialism with chinese characteristics and thatis with chinese characteristics and that is basically communism as he defines it. very interesting, thank you and please come back again. absolutely. cezanne is widely considered one

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of the most influential artists of the 19th century, both matisse and picasso called him "the father of us all." on thursday, a new exhibition opens at the national portrait gallery in london showcasing more than 50 of cezanne's portraits together for the first time, some of which have never been displayed in the uk before. 0ur arts editor will gompertz has been to see it. a portrait of an artist as a young man. paul cezanne's early selfie, painted in his 20s, when he was still learning to look like no other artist. he would paint himself throughout his career, making breakthroughs in technique and tone each time. until this final self—portrait when the artist picasso called "the father of us all", revealed a lifetime's knowledge and skill in a single image. cezanne's portraits were radical when he painted them in the second—half of the 19th century and they still feel radical today. not for him idealised versions of the rich and famous and the great and the good, he just wanted to paint ordinary people, in really ordinary settings and thereby create something extraordinary. even though he doesn't seek to represent expressed emotion,

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obviously his interest in character, and i think he really wanted that sense of the peoplenesses of people regardless of social status, regardless of anything. i mean, when you look back in the history of portraiture, who has done that before, and you end up with rembrandt. are there pictures in this exhibition, john, where we see cezanne the artist ta ke lea ps forward ? the first big thing is very early, in the mid 1860s, where he makes paintings entirely with a palette knife. portraits had never been painted in that way before. the next big step is in the middle of the ‘70s where, after having worked with impressionists, colour blooms in his pictures. then by the ‘80s, volume is very present with regular hatch brush strokes.

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and then in the ‘90s, all these different currents really start to come together. cezanne was famously grumpy. sitters could be reprimanded for the slightest fidget. "does an apple move", he'd snap, even though it might have been the 150th session they'd attended for a single portrait. it is fair to say, cezanne was something else. quite the selfie, that is my friday sorted. i have got a postcard of cezannes. nothing hanging on the wall? nothing hanging on the wall? nothing real? no, no sure thinking of something for my birthday. let's move on. a souring relations between donald trump and senior republicans, we have been talking about it through the programme and as we've reported, he made a rare visit to capitol hill where he attended a lunch with the party

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faithful. they have come out of that lunch and the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has been talking to journalists and here is what he said about party unity. what i have an obligation to do is try and achieve the greatest cohesion i can among 52 republicans, try to achieve for the american people the agenda we set out to achieve and tax reform is what we are about. if there is anything that unifies republicans, it is tax reform. we have been looking for the opportunity to do this literally the years. we now have a president who will sign it, who believes in what we are trying to do and we will concentrate on what our agenda is and not any of these other distractions that you all may be interested in. mitch mcconnell talking about the senate a little earlier. 0n last night's show we gave a special mention to a very special creature — this chap, our very ownjon sopel‘s precious doggie alfie the minature schnauzer. he sent a video last card. do we

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have the video? in this game, i count this as a viewer, it is a plus one. christian, i go away for one day and a dog has become the star of the show. you're not kidding, says a lot for me and jon sopel, doesn't it. see the same time tomorrow. well, today was very overcast across the uk. tomorrow, i think, well, today was very overcast across the uk. tomorrow, ithink, some sunshine on the way. the good news also is that it is going to stay mild, if mild weather is what you want. i don't think anybody will be complaining too much about that, with these mild south—westerly winds coming in, it won't be long before we start getting cold northerly is, trust me. but for the time being, we still got a bit of cloud around this evening, some of this is rain bearing clouds there is some rain and drizzle around, particularly across central areas of the uk, down into wales as well, also scotland

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and northern ireland, some showers here. i think east anglia and the south—east probably staying dry tonight and this is where the mildest of the weather will be, around 13, 1a degrees, just about sub10 around 13, 1a degrees, just about sub 10 degrees across scotland. here is the morning, the rush—hour, a little bit of drizzle across cornwall and devon and somerset and most of the west country, hugging the south coast as well, a little bit of cloud across the south and east midlands and then north, drier weather and here in the western isles of scotland, we have some showers. so a little bit fresher here, temperatures closer to around nine or 10 degrees. what is going to happen tomorrow? this weather front with all of the low—grade cloud and drizzle thrown in might start to fall apart and most of the cloud shifts a little bit further southwards, so the vast majority of the uk on wednesday will have a fine, bright if not sunny day, lovely weather there across the midlands and northern england. the far side hanging on to the cloud. thursday, it looks like the weather

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front will shift back further northwards, so there may be more cloud across the uk but overall, still quite a bright day and still mild, 18 in london, a bit fresher across scotland, only 12 or 13 and you will notice the winds are changing direction and that will be quite a feature, a change in the weather as we head towards the end of the week and into the weekend. you will notice we haven't got too much of that south—westerly wind anymore, it is more of a westerly, even north—westerly developing and those temperatures dropping and as we go through the weekend, they are coming straight from the north, so the temperatures are set to take, i wouldn't say necessarily a massive dive, but closer to what we normally expect at this time of the year, so by the weekend i think we will be down to around about 13. that's the latest. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at eight. eu council president donald tusk tells the european parliament: we must stay united or face brexit "defeat". britain, he says could still remain.

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it is in fact up to london how this will end, with a good deal, a no deal or no. “ oi’ “ or no -- or no brexit. the labour party announces an investigation into its mp jared 0'mara, following allegations he made sexist and and homophobic comments. as a top republican senator attacks donald trump saying he is a liar — the us president is faced with a paper throwing protester in capitol hill as he heads for a senate policy lunch. the hire—purchase firm brighthouse is to pay out nearly £15 million